More claptrap from famed bargain basement, Roger Corman, productions, this one notable as actually being his first (solo) in his (very*!) successful beginnings of stupid monster horror quickies; but also because in hindsight has gained a rather respectable reputation as demonstrating in its telling a prescient female empowerment, ah, well, undercurrent.
Since, amongst the oft interminable patriarchally expositionally 'men explain things to dumb woman' way going through even its short run, what nowadays makes this stand out significantly to still tolerate to sit through, is not only to catch (only a) glimpse of the 'monster', as surely having been plagarised pinched (potential copyright infringed!) for 'Bob' from the recent animated 'Aliens vs Monsters' kid's film (should you have sued Rog?), but is that it also casts the lead 'Julie' (Anne Kimbell) as an intrepid, determined to unravel the horror, female protagonist who drives the plot, (by B. Danch), and so not the dunderhead /Steve Dunning) lead guy, Stuart**, who, in just such typical fifties patrirachal condescendingly 'don't worry your pretty little head' way, otherwise pooh poohs her monster suspicions and investigative zeal: well, he is a professor whereas she's only turned up initially to paint seascapes - coz she's an 'industrial (specialty: washing machines, no less!) illustrator'!
Suggestibly (most amusingly), Stuart is introduced to become the de rigueur love interest into the proceedings through the mini-sub that actually gave Corman the incentive, idea to make this film, after seeing it and asking the company that made it to use it (Aerojet submersibles; happy to get free promotion they said 'yeah'): this was 'directed' - well, suggested - in a surely not unintentionally phallic way, when Julie first encounters him in it, its 'nose' poking priapically up through the surface causing her to grab hold of its phallic nosecone: even more amusingly (smuttily?) so - (although perhaps admittedly now surely only in the eye of this 'male gaze' viewer) - is that when he then wheels it up ashore it seemed to this (male gaze) viewer to be noticeably smaller than when first appeared in that first surface breaking encounter, thus somehow seemingly simulating a biological truism that affects blokes returning to land from (prolonged) water immersion ... if you get my, ah, well 'drift'?
Anyway, as said, he mainly (manly!) doubts and dismisses Ms Kimbell: "You have your beliefs - and I have mine." (but, he IS the professor, dear) and preferring to more safely examine protozoa under a microscope, so it's her who wants to properly investigate into the briny, by which means can thus then be filmed swimming about undersea - (rather like as just coincidentally from the same year, Julie Adam similarly in more famous 'Creature from Black Lagoon') - searching for the 'Aliens v Monsters' 'Bob' precursor, thus to afford director (Wyott Ordung: of whom, that's himself, playing Paulo in the film), quite some extended opportunities to have salaciously shot her long legged litheness - and just happenstance then with concomitant pulchritudinous rear end - when flippering away from shot, too; whereat, if you like your women in terror emoting seemingly real fear, as both from 'Bob' (er, that Monster on the Ocean Floor) and shark menaced, she does so quite convincingly well from behind her facemask. (Sadly no close 'intermingling' encounter with 'Bob' / er, 'Ocean Floor' monster - as lasciviously come on shown on the poster - ever occurs!)
Then, along the way of besides savouring this historic feminine driven interest development, are a couple of storytelling, pacing, oddity fun spots to enjoy, too:
besides the inevitable denouement dispatch of the Ocean Floor Monster, which you just gotta, ah, 'see' in its surely not coincidental phallic into gelatinous eye suggestability (!);
is, so how would a 'meal, victim' cow just happen to wander / get onto a small isolated beach cove? (And, note, 'all' that is left behind for intrepid Julie to recover ... euww, or, er .. 'monstrous' consumption skills inferred ...)
But perhaps the best 'what are they inferring there, then' moment just has to when lothario lead Stu is serenading Julie on his guitar, sat on a beach reef rock (nothing wrong with that; assuredly sea air would have no effect on those twangy strings), but at whence soon after, almost literally, 'pops up' from behind said rocky reef, Dr. Barton (Baldwin? / Dick Pinner), his institution boss, attired all in two piece suit and tie - so, right, just as you do for on the beach wear? - to advise him on his recent promotion: euuw; voyeur stalker, or what?
Indeed, in just happening to have been afore skulking behind the rock, Dr. Barton now positions himself right between, so separating, the erstwhile budding lovers, to soon regard Stu to 'remind': "We've got a lotta things to do tonight" and when departs this beach encounter scene, then eyes him again to now declare - and somehow oddly enthusiastically: "See you later, Steve"! Well, really**: (Ok, so, why would boss be down there on the beach whilst Steve/Stu** was serenading Julie then?)
Watched in these lights (darkness?!), this otherwise tedious clunker can be full of enjoyable fun:
*and as would seem it was in real life, as apparently it made back its paltry, barely just over $10,000 budget some 100+ times, making it no wonder, Corman became so successful in this genre styling filmmaking.
** so, yup, which note, bad film fans: is an amusing unfixed glaring goof: coz means 'Dr Barton (as I heard, or 'Baldwin') called him by actor's real name, not character 'Stu'!)
P. S. Would make a fun double billing with Corman's then first direction effort, as coincidentally, another prescient female driven romp: 'Swamp Women' (aka 'Swamp Diamonds'.)
Since, amongst the oft interminable patriarchally expositionally 'men explain things to dumb woman' way going through even its short run, what nowadays makes this stand out significantly to still tolerate to sit through, is not only to catch (only a) glimpse of the 'monster', as surely having been plagarised pinched (potential copyright infringed!) for 'Bob' from the recent animated 'Aliens vs Monsters' kid's film (should you have sued Rog?), but is that it also casts the lead 'Julie' (Anne Kimbell) as an intrepid, determined to unravel the horror, female protagonist who drives the plot, (by B. Danch), and so not the dunderhead /Steve Dunning) lead guy, Stuart**, who, in just such typical fifties patrirachal condescendingly 'don't worry your pretty little head' way, otherwise pooh poohs her monster suspicions and investigative zeal: well, he is a professor whereas she's only turned up initially to paint seascapes - coz she's an 'industrial (specialty: washing machines, no less!) illustrator'!
Suggestibly (most amusingly), Stuart is introduced to become the de rigueur love interest into the proceedings through the mini-sub that actually gave Corman the incentive, idea to make this film, after seeing it and asking the company that made it to use it (Aerojet submersibles; happy to get free promotion they said 'yeah'): this was 'directed' - well, suggested - in a surely not unintentionally phallic way, when Julie first encounters him in it, its 'nose' poking priapically up through the surface causing her to grab hold of its phallic nosecone: even more amusingly (smuttily?) so - (although perhaps admittedly now surely only in the eye of this 'male gaze' viewer) - is that when he then wheels it up ashore it seemed to this (male gaze) viewer to be noticeably smaller than when first appeared in that first surface breaking encounter, thus somehow seemingly simulating a biological truism that affects blokes returning to land from (prolonged) water immersion ... if you get my, ah, well 'drift'?
Anyway, as said, he mainly (manly!) doubts and dismisses Ms Kimbell: "You have your beliefs - and I have mine." (but, he IS the professor, dear) and preferring to more safely examine protozoa under a microscope, so it's her who wants to properly investigate into the briny, by which means can thus then be filmed swimming about undersea - (rather like as just coincidentally from the same year, Julie Adam similarly in more famous 'Creature from Black Lagoon') - searching for the 'Aliens v Monsters' 'Bob' precursor, thus to afford director (Wyott Ordung: of whom, that's himself, playing Paulo in the film), quite some extended opportunities to have salaciously shot her long legged litheness - and just happenstance then with concomitant pulchritudinous rear end - when flippering away from shot, too; whereat, if you like your women in terror emoting seemingly real fear, as both from 'Bob' (er, that Monster on the Ocean Floor) and shark menaced, she does so quite convincingly well from behind her facemask. (Sadly no close 'intermingling' encounter with 'Bob' / er, 'Ocean Floor' monster - as lasciviously come on shown on the poster - ever occurs!)
Then, along the way of besides savouring this historic feminine driven interest development, are a couple of storytelling, pacing, oddity fun spots to enjoy, too:
besides the inevitable denouement dispatch of the Ocean Floor Monster, which you just gotta, ah, 'see' in its surely not coincidental phallic into gelatinous eye suggestability (!);
is, so how would a 'meal, victim' cow just happen to wander / get onto a small isolated beach cove? (And, note, 'all' that is left behind for intrepid Julie to recover ... euww, or, er .. 'monstrous' consumption skills inferred ...)
But perhaps the best 'what are they inferring there, then' moment just has to when lothario lead Stu is serenading Julie on his guitar, sat on a beach reef rock (nothing wrong with that; assuredly sea air would have no effect on those twangy strings), but at whence soon after, almost literally, 'pops up' from behind said rocky reef, Dr. Barton (Baldwin? / Dick Pinner), his institution boss, attired all in two piece suit and tie - so, right, just as you do for on the beach wear? - to advise him on his recent promotion: euuw; voyeur stalker, or what?
Indeed, in just happening to have been afore skulking behind the rock, Dr. Barton now positions himself right between, so separating, the erstwhile budding lovers, to soon regard Stu to 'remind': "We've got a lotta things to do tonight" and when departs this beach encounter scene, then eyes him again to now declare - and somehow oddly enthusiastically: "See you later, Steve"! Well, really**: (Ok, so, why would boss be down there on the beach whilst Steve/Stu** was serenading Julie then?)
Watched in these lights (darkness?!), this otherwise tedious clunker can be full of enjoyable fun:
*and as would seem it was in real life, as apparently it made back its paltry, barely just over $10,000 budget some 100+ times, making it no wonder, Corman became so successful in this genre styling filmmaking.
** so, yup, which note, bad film fans: is an amusing unfixed glaring goof: coz means 'Dr Barton (as I heard, or 'Baldwin') called him by actor's real name, not character 'Stu'!)
P. S. Would make a fun double billing with Corman's then first direction effort, as coincidentally, another prescient female driven romp: 'Swamp Women' (aka 'Swamp Diamonds'.)